The Week Ahead For AL Playoff Contenders: September 8th

Despite setback on Monday, Tribe poised to gain ground this week

How things “stand”:

This is fun, isn’t it? In a state that endured losses by the Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns on the gridiron over the weekend, the Cleveland Indians just kept on winning. After an extremely disappointing four game series against the Detroit Tigers (a blown save & an extra inning rally away from three wins instead of just one), they swept a three game series against the Chicago White Sox by a combined score of 7-2. In typical Indians fashion, they followed that up by getting drop kicked by the Los Angeles Angels 12-3 on Monday, but I’m not letting that bring this article down. Back on August 25 the Indians started a stretch of 30 games in 30 days, 25 of those coming against the Central division. They are now about halfway through that stretch and have done an admirable job, going 8-5 and are an out away from nine wins with the suspended game in Kanas City on the 31st.

As of Tuesday, the Indians find themselves a half game further back in both the division and Wild Card standings since last week. The Royals lead the Central by a game over the Motor City Kitties and five games over the Tribe, although Cleveland still has that (fingers crossed) win in the suspended game to cash in on.

The Oakland A’s have been in a nosedive as of late but still hold on to the top AL Wild Card spot. The Seattle Mariners regained possession of the second, with the Tigers falling a half game behind them. The Indians and the New York Yankees remain neck-and-neck, with the former now four and a half games out and the latter five.

The Week Ahead:

Cleveland Indians

Last week rating/results: Looking Good / 4-3

This week difficulty rating: Looking Good

Schedule: vs LA Angels 9/8, vs Minnesota 9/9-9/11, @ Detroit 9/12-9/14

Real quick: With Detroit and Kansas City facing off at the beginning of the week, Tribe can gain ground on one or the other if they take care of business. The Angels showed no mercy in Cleveland on Monday and remained one of the hottest teams in baseball. Tribe needs to turn the page faster than a middle-aged single woman flips through a Fabio paperback. Sweeps are hard, but with one game against the best record in the majors and three in Detroit, Cleveland needs to think about giving the Twins a little sprucing up. If Trevor Bauer can figure out the first inning, he, T.J. House and Corey Kluber give them a good shot.

Kansas City Royals

Aug 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher

(33) delivers a pitch in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Last week rating/results: Could be good, could be bad / 5-1

This week difficulty rating: Looking Good

Schedule: @ Detroit 9/8-9/10, vs Boston 9/11-9/14

Real quick: Rejoice, every member of the media who has been saying “This is the Royals year!” for the past five years, you may finally be right. Ned Yost and the boys show no signs of slowing down, sweeping the Rangers and taking two of three from the Yankees last week. Detroit took game one of the series on Monday, with the remaining two presenting a golden opportunity for the Indians to gain some ground. The Royals run out Jason Vargas and the almighty James Shields in games two and three, while simultaneously avoiding David Price. The Red Sox represent the last games Kansas City will play against non-Central division opponents and could easily get overlooked.

Detroit Tigers

Last week rating/results: Could be good, could be bad / 4-3

This week difficulty rating: Could be good, could be bad

Schedule: vs Kansas City 9/8-9/10, off 9/11, vs Cleveland 9/12-9/14

Real quick: The Tigers schedule is also back-loaded with division opponents, as Sunday’s victory over the San Francisco was the last game they play against non-Centralians. The Royals are one of the better teams in baseball at home, so Detroit will be happy just avoiding a sweep, as they did with their game one victory. An outsider would think they would be licking their chops to see the Indians come to town after what transpired at the beginning of last week, but anyone who watched knows the Indians were a blown save and an extra-innings rally away from flipping the table on the Tigers. All of a sudden, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer are a pretty scary trio of hurlers to see as the opposition.

Seattle Mariners

Last week rating/results: Looking Good / 5-2

This week difficulty rating: Looking Good

Schedule: vs Houston 9/8-9/10, off 9/11, vs Oakland 9/12-9/14

Real quick: I cringed in my seat as I was writing this thinking about the poor Astros having to face Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma Once thought to be a lock at the top of the West, and then a lock as the top Wild Card team, one can see a scenario where the A’s miss the playoffs entirely with their performance in the past month. Their last three series include getting swept by the Angels and losing at home to both the Mariners and the Astros. The panic button is shattered in Oakland.

New York Yankees

Aug 13, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher

(18) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Last week rating/results: Could be good, could be bad / 3-3

This week difficulty rating: Not so hot

Schedule: Off 9/8, vs Tampa Bay 9/9-9/11, @ Baltimore 9/12-9/14

Real quick: New York was almost completely shut down by Kansas City over the weekend, scoring two runs total in three games. Much like the Indians need to take care of the Twins this week, the Yankees need to find a way to get the job done against the Rays, who have played significantly better on the road this season than at Tropicana Field. The series in Baltimore includes a double-header on Friday before a day game on Saturday, followed by a showdown on Sunday Night Baseball. A bad series loss could be the final nail in the Wild Card coffin for the Bronx Bombers.

Toronto Blue Jays

Last week rating/results: Could be good, could be bad / 4-2

This week difficulty rating: Looking Good

Schedule: vs Chicago Cubs 9/8-9/10, off 9/11, vs Tampa Bay 9/12-9/14

Real quick: With the Indians and Yankees ahead of them in the Wild Card now, the Jays need to make a serious push if they have any hopes of playing baseball in October. This week is a perfect opportunity, with the Cubs coming off being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Rays playing three against the Yankees before coming to Toronto. The Blue Jays swept the Rays last week before losing two of three in Boston. They did what they needed to do on Monday, shutting out the Cubs 8-0.